The Ties That Bind
by Ashfae
Summary: A story about honor, love, duty, and other things that bind people together.
1. Chapter One

**The Ties That Bind**

  


Chapter One

  


by Ashfae

* * *

[Tokyo] 

The streets were crowded with vendors and buyers, and assorted people traveling rapidly from here to there. The air was thick with the sound of shouts, laughter, conversations, and bargaining. Through all of these a low, sweet sound drifted. 

Sagara Sanosuke whistled to himself as he ambled through the streets, hands stuck into his pockets- which, astonishingly, were weighed down with coins. He smiled inwardly at the thought. _About bloody time my luck took a change!_ he thought smugly. _Genji and Shuu never knew what hit 'em!_

All at once something caught the corner of his eye: a vision of green silk and dark hair. Turning his head slightly, he met the eyes of a woman who was standing at the side of the road. Inwardly, Sano was impressed. Her kimono was dark green with gold cranes embroidered on it, and a yellow under-kimono and obi; even from a distance, he could tell that the material was of a high quality, and _very_ expensive. Her hair was bound on top of her head with ornate jewelry, and her features were beautiful- strong rather than delicate, but nonetheless impressive. 

All at once she seemed to realize that she was staring, and blushed. Sanosuke winked good-naturedly and kept on walking. 

Before he had taken more than a few steps, he heard someone call from behind him. "WAIT!" Curious, he turned to look- and found the dark-haired woman chasing him. She grabbed his arm and pulled him off to the side. "Wait," she repeated, breathless. Up close, he could see that she was older than he had originally thought...perhaps thirty. 

Sanosuke raised an eyebrow, curious. "Did you want something?" 

A hand reached up and grasped one of the ends of the red bandanna that he always wore. Something inside of him went cold; if she recognized what it meant, then..."Your bandanna," she said, still a bit out of breath. "Were you one of the Sekihoutai?" 

_I _knew_ it!_ Sano raged inwardly. Every once in a while someone would remember that the Sekihoutai always wore red bandannas...and then inevitably followed insults, jeers, outright fear from people who had never learned the truth about the group that Sagara Sanosuke was still proud to have belonged to. So proud that he never removed the bandanna, even if it would have made life easier. His eyes narrowed. "Who the hell's death do _you_ think we're responsible for?" he said in an icy voice. "A brother's? A father's? Forget it; I'm not interested." 

He turned to walk away, but the woman's arm still clung to his tightly. "Wait!" she repeated, almost desperately. "Please, you don't understand!" 

He twisted his arm out of her grip almost violently and turned to gaze at her with cold eyes, still not trusting. "Don't understand what?" 

The woman bit her lip. "Please...I must talk with you, but not here." He just looked at her. "My name is Koshima Misaki. My husband's name was Koshima Shirou, but he changed it when he left to join the revolution. He formed the Sekihoutai; the name he took was Sagara Souzou. Please, did you know him?" 

Sanosuke stared at her in complete astonishment. 

_Sagara-taichou's...wife??_

****************************

Not much later, the two were seated in a quiet corner of the Akabeko. Tae watched curiously from the other side of the restruant; for the first time she could remember, Sanosuke had actually been able to _pay_ for his meal...which he was eating with the most elegant woman the restruanteer could ever remember having seen. It was very curious. 

Unconcerned, Sanosuke leaned on his hands and stared at the woman who sat demurely opposite him. "You said you wanted to talk to me," he asked quietly. "About Sagara-taichou?" 

Misaki smiled slightly. "This is a bit of a story," she said. 

"I've got time. Please." 

The woman stared at her hands where they lay folded on the table. "My marriage to Shirou-san was arranged by our parents," she said quietly. "His family had wealth and influence, mine an honorable name. He had spent years traveling around, teaching his ideas on politics. His parents hoped that by distracting him with a wife and children, he would forget his revolutionary ideas. It didn't work; he would tell me, often, about the changes he wanted to see made to the government and social structures of Japan. He decided that the Meiji would bring those changes about; I was not suprised when he left my son and I, after only a few short years. Neither did I blame him. 

"For a time, he wrote to me regularly about his dreams of bringing about a new era. Then all at once, the letters stopped. I heard that he was dead. I was told that the Sekihoutai were traitors who had lied to the people and been executed by the new government." Her hands clenched each other so tightly that the blood drained from them. "I never believed it. My husband was an honorable man; he would never have done such a thing. I knew the government must be at fault somehow, that they must have betrayed him. But I could learn _nothing_. 

"I spent years searching for information. My son is grown now, and pays little attention to me. Free, I tried even harder to gather information. My greatest source was the underground anti-government newspapers that were published; I hired someone to collect them for me." 

Misaki reached into an inner pocket of her kimono and pulled out a faded piece of paper, and handed it to Sanosuke. His eyes scanned the article, which told the true story of what had happened to the Sekihoutai. A brief smile touched his lips as he recognized the author's name: Katsuhiro. Misaki continued. "When I read this, I knew that at least one member of the Sekihoutai must have survived. I resolved to come and find him, and any others that I might not have been able to locate. Did you write this?" 

Sano pursed his lips, still staring at the article. "You believed in Sagara-taichou?" he asked after a moment. 

Misaki's eyes filled with tears. "I was very young when I met him," she said, almost in a whisper. "Our marriage was one of convienence, but I loved my husband, and he was fond of me. Yes, I believed in him. I still do." 

Sanosuke stood up, reached into his pocket, and threw a few coins on the table. "Come," he said quietly. "There's someone you should meet." 

She followed as he walked quickly out of the Akabeko, and along a path that would take them to the outskirts of town. "Who?" 

"The man who wrote that article." 

********************************************************

[Kyoto] 

"Shinomori Aoshi." 

Aoshi looked up from his meditation, to find Saitoh Hajime standing before him, smirking. The wolf of Mibu looked the same as always; pristine, confident, and with a cigarette held loosely between his fingers. "I have a job for you and your ninja." 

Aoshi's voice was cool and unpreterbed. "Then you should be speaking with our Okashira." 

Saitoh raised an eyebrow. "I'm not? Don't tell me that the weasel-girl is still in charge..." 

_Weasel? What on earth..._ "If by that term you refer to Makimachi Misao, yes. She does a capable job." 

The policeman took a drag from his cigarette. "Is that so. Well then, lead me to her. I would prefer if you stayed for the interview." 

Aoshi shrugged, curious despite his better instincts. "If she has no objection." 

"She will not, I think." Implied was, _She had better not._ Aoshi had not liked the wolf of Mibu on the few occassions when they'd met before; this meeting was not improving his opinion. Nonetheless, he rose from his cross-legged position on the floor, and led the way towards the training hall; he was fairly certain Misao would be there. 

Sure enough, she was sparring with Okina. She had decided that her style was too limited, and was trying to expand it; she had been practising kenpo with a ferocity that would have exhausted most, and was currently facing off her adopted grandfather with two tanto blades. Critically, Aoshi examined her movements; they were still flawed, but she was adjusting well to fighting with two blades. He'd been meaning to train her himself; the time was coming near when it would be necessary. 

Saitoh cleared his throat; the small sound broke Aoshi from his reverie. "Misao, Okina. We have a visitor." 

The two halted immediately, bowing their heads slightly towards each other before turning to the doorway. Misao's expression darkened slightly on seeing who was waiting behing Aoshi, but her voice was clear when she spoke. "...Saitoh. To what do we owe this pleasure?" Her tone of voice made it clear that his visit was anything but a pleasure; his only reaction was a slight smile. 

"There have been a string of murders lately that we cannot comprehend. Possibly you have heard of them. Each time, the pattern is the same; a young boy walks into a public place, and begins to slaughter everyone in sight. It has happened on no less than five seperate occassions. Each time, the perpetrator managed to kill himself as soon as he caught sight of the police. The death toll is...disconcerting." 

Saitoh took a deep drag on his cigarette, watching closely as the young okashira digested this news, and continued. "We have not been able to discover any link between the murderers, aside from the fact that they were all fairly young- between the ages of twelve and eighteen. Only one of them was female. All of them remain unidentified. The weapons of choice have differed. There seems to be no motivation, and no set victims. We have almost nothing to go on." 

Misao's face was drained of blood, and very sober. But her voice did not shake at all as she answered. "You want us to try and find out who's behind it?" 

"Exactly so. There must be someone orchestrating these events. I have spared as many men as I can towards protecting the city; we need others, with more specialized talents, to gather information." A smile touched his lips. "Your little group seemed immenently suitable. We have permitted you to stay banded, against government policy, for just this reason; you will help us now, or I can arrest you all." 

"Don't be an ass, Saitoh," Misao snapped. Okina breathed in slowly, concerned by her lack of respect before a very dangerous man, but the girl paid no attention to him. "Of course we'll do anything we can. There's no need for threats." 

The policeman raised an eyebrow, then stood. "I'm sure you will. You will, of course, keep me informed." 

"Of course." It was Aoshi who responded that time, apparently not at all angered by Saitoh's patronizing tone of voice. "If you do not interfere with our methods." 

"I wouldn't dream of it." 

Saitoh touched a finger to his cap, a gesture of farewell, and left. To her credit, Misao didn't burst out into a torrent of insults as soon as he was gone. 

She looked up at Okina, her expression very sober. "Those rumors are true, then. About people walking into restruants, and..." She swallowed. 

"So it would seem," Aoshi responded, leaning against the doorway. 

"I didn't want to believe them." Misao said in a small voice. "What should we do?" 

Automatically, Aoshi's mind had been reviewing possible tactics. Partly it was habit, and partly a desire to take part of the burden off of her shoulders. It took a few seconds for him to remember that she was the okashira now, not him. "It's your decision, Misao," he said finally. "Do you have any ideas?" He would do her no favors by doing her job for her. But he could help. 

She bit her lip, brow furrowing in concentration. "I guess we start by interviewing people who were there when it happened. Anyone who was a witness, or who owned a building where one of them came. Okon and Kuro can do that. Omasu and Shiro should probably stay at the Aoiya, in case something happens here." Her voice gained more confidence as she continued. 

Okina frowned. "The questioning process would go more quickly if we sent all four out." 

Misao shook her head, slowly. "No. It'd look strange if at least one of them wasn't around; people are used to seeing them here. We don't want people to know that there's more to the Aoiya than food. And Omasu doesn't really want to do ninja things anymore; she'd rather be in charge of the restruant. She'd be a good person to keep here. It's possible that someone could come here and try to cause trouble; they're choosing public places, and the Aoiya is possible. So we should make sure that a few Oniwabanshuu are working, as guards. Instead of just ordinary waitresses. That way, maybe we can capture one of them before anything happens." 

"True." Okina smiled. "That's good thinking. And you, Aoshi?" 

Aoshi mused. "I have a few contacts I could speak with," he said finally. "Perhaps one of them will have noticed something." 

Misao nodded firmly. "Good. That leaves Jiya to do the paperwork." 

"What??? Why me?" 

"You're the only one left," she grinned. 

"What about you?" 

"I have to be in charge of things, of course," she grinned. "I'm just kidding you, Jiya. I was thinking of doing some research to see if anything like this has ever happened before. That is, um, if Aoshi-sama will let me use his library...?" She looked up at the former okashira hopefully. 

Aoshi nodded. "Let me know first. I'll help you." 

"Thank you." She heaved a sigh of relief, then straightened up. "I'll tell the others later; there's not much we can get done tonight anyway. Now that that's settled- we weren't finished with practice, Jiya!" 

As the two resumed their sparring, Aoshi smiled inwardly. _She's learning how to take command. She'll do fine._

He made a mental note to help her correct her footwork, and left. 

********************************************************

[Tokyo] 

"Good night, Yahiko-niichan!" 

"'Night! Night!" 

Myojin Yahiko waved to Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan, who waved enthusiastically back for as long as they possibly could, until their grandfather took them inside. Yahiko grinned at Genzai-sensei, then started the walk back home, whistling to himself. _Cute kids,_ he thought. _Can't help but like them, even if they are loud and pesky and...well, _girls. 

_'Course, Tsubame-chan's a girl too, and she's nice...and I guess Misao is okay..._

Yahiko walked the short distance between Genzai-sensei's house and the dojo, as he did nearly every day after making certain Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan had gotten home okay. He kept on whistling, hands folded behind his head, musing about how weird it was that some girls were okay, whereas others- like Ugly- were annoying people who couldn't cook. He smirked, knowing that if Kaoru knew he was thinking such things about her, she'd start chasing him around with a shinai. 

His mind thus occupied, he was completely unprepared for the piece of cloth that was thrown over his mouth, muffling his shouts. He was even less prepared for the bag that he was thrown into, or for being slung onto someone's back like a sack of rice. He struggled and kicked as much as he could, until something hit him sharply on the shoulder, then on the head. 

After that, there was only dark... 

* * *

NOTES: 

I have no idea what Sagara-taichou's wife's name was in truth. I do know that he had one, and that Koshima was his real name; Sagara Souzou is an alias he picked for himself. I assumed his wife's last name would be Koshima as well. 

"Koshima" is written to mean "small island." (Thank you, Seri-kun, for letting me know!)   
"Misaki" is written with the kanji for "seed" and "future/sequel/remainder"...and yes, it's a valid first name for a woman. I checked. =)   
"-taichou" means Boss, Captain, Commander.   
"-niichan" means Older brother. It's not only used for family; it can also be used for a male who is a few years older than you are. 

Obviously, I'm taking some liberties with the history of the Sekihoutai's founder. I'm trying to be as historically accurate as I can...but hey, this **is** fiction. So I'm not terribly worried about getting some things wrong, though I do like to be accurate when possible. =) 

Hope you enjoyed. =) 

[ashfae@duct-tape.mit.edu][1]

   [1]: mailto:ashfae@duct-tape.mit.edu



	2. Chapter Two

**The Ties That Bind**

  


Chapter Two

  


by Ashfae

* * *

[Tokyo] 

"Yahiko! _Yahiko!_" 

Kaoru's voice rang out into the night as she called as loudly as she could, not caring how late it was or who she woke up. She was beginning to become seriously worried; Yahiko had left to walk Dr. Genzai's granddaughters home, as he often did. Dr. Genzai didn't live far away; Yahiko should have been back within an hour, even if he'd gotten distracted. 

But he wasn't. It was now many, many hours after sunset, and he still wasn't home. _It's not like him. It's just not like him! _

Something must have happened. 

That was the thought that made her bite her lip in worry. Yahiko could protect himself better than most- nobody knew that better than Kaoru, she was his _teacher_- but they didn't have the usual sorts of enemies. If someone had decided to get at Kenshin through his friends, or one of the members of the gang Yahiko used to be a pickpocket for had decided they wanted him...he wouldn't be an easy target, but he was still just a ten-year-old boy... 

_Something _must_ have happened!_

And there was nothing she could do! With a gasp that was almost a sob, Kaoru stopped in her tracks. 

"Kaoru-dono..." 

She whirled on her companion. "Don't even start, Kenshin! I'm telling you, something's wrong! And I _won't_ go home, not until I find him!" 

Kenshin sighed, and put a hand on her shoulder. "_Kaoru-dono_," he said, his voice almost stern. "I agree that something is wrong. But one of us should be at home, in case he returns. And I have more experience with finding people in the dark than you do." 

The gentle but pointed reminder of who- or what- Kenshin was- or had been- was enough to quiet her. "But..." she protested feebly. 

"Please, Kaoru-dono. I promise I'll find him and bring him home, all right?" 

What could she possibly say to that? Kaoru nodded slowly, and turned to return to the dojo. Then she paused. "Kenshin?" 

"Hai de gozaro yo?" 

_Even now, he's being formal..._ She sighed. "Please be careful." 

He nodded. 

********************************************************

Not far away, three figures sat in silence on the floor of a small room. A single candle burned, creating more shadows than light; dark forms flickered on the walls behind the three people. 

Katsuhiro had just finished listening to Misaki's story, and was contemplating. "It is an honor to meet Sagara-taichou's wife," he said eventually. "But what exactly do you want from us? The Sekihoutai are dead; Sanosuke and I are the only ones left. What do you hope to accomplish?" 

Misaki's chin lifted proudly. "I want revenge. The government stole my husband; they killed him as easily as a person might kill a rabid dog. But worse, they stole his honor. I want his name cleared- the names of anyone who was a part of the Sekihoutai. I want to _hurt_ this corrupt government, which sacrificed a good man to cover its own mistakes." Her eyes flashed. "And most of all, I want the man who ordered the attack. Shindo Tatewaki." 

Both Sano and Katsu drew in quick breaths; they remembered very well the night when Shindo Tatewaki had suddenly revealed his true colors, and ordered his men to fire on the Sekihoutai. They hadn't had a chance...it was sheer luck that had saved Katsu, and stubborness that kept Sanosuke alive. 

Katsu's eyes narrowed. "I'll do it. Whatever the plan is, I'm with you." 

Misaki's smile was composed partially of relief and partially of anticipation. "Thank you," she said quietly. "And...?" 

She glanced at Sano. He stared into the candleflame and didn't say anything. 

Katsu looked at him. "Last time we met, you said that I was following the wrong path, and I listened. I gave up my dreams of bringing down the Meiji with my bombs, and began writing. I wanted to get people's attention. Now that I've gotten attention, I'll return to my other weapons with pleasure. But you? You're happy here, with your friends. You brought Sagara-taichou's wife here, but are you sure you want to do this?" 

Sanosuke closed his eyes. He could remember clearly what Kenshin had told him during their first battle, long ago. _"Did the Sekihoutai teach you to destroy the Ishin Shishi? Or to bring in the new era?" _

Sorry, Kenshin. My first loyalty will always be the Sekihoutai. I hope you'll understand. He took a deep breath, and opened his eyes. "I'm in." 

"Good!" Katsu clapped him on the back. "This time we won't fail, my friend." 

Sano shook his head slowly. "No." He got to his feet. "We should start right away. Tonight, even." 

Katsu looked surprised. "You're not going to say goodbye to your friends?" 

_Kenshin...Jou-chan...Yahiko...Megumi._ "It's better if I don't. This way, it'll be harder for Kenshin to find out what we're up to. I don't want him following us again." 

Katsu nodded. "That's true. He prevented us last time." 

Misaki looked confused. "Kenshin?" 

Katsu opened his mouth to speak, but Sano interrupted. "Someone I know. He found out about a plan Katsu and I had to blow up an important government building here, and stopped us. If I see him, he'll know that something's up." Sano looked at Katsu meaningfully. The other man got the point and said nothing. "He's a good guy, but he wouldn't like this. It's better if we leave quickly, and quietly." 

"We can leave right now, if you wish. I want to get started as soon as I can. We'll need more people." 

"You have a plan, then," Sano asked, already expecting the answer. "You know where he is." 

Misaki smiled again, and this time there was a cold edge to it. "Yes." 

_I'm sorry, Kenshin._

********************************************************

[Kyoto] 

"Okashira." 

Misao blinked and looked up from the scroll she'd been studying. Her eyes focused slowly on the figure in the doorway- Kuro, breathing heavily and with a strange look in his eyes. Misao felt her heart sink; Kuro had been watching one of the restruants downtown, waiting to see if another of the mysterious murders would take place. If he was here now, then..."Kuro, what happened?" 

The older ninja swallowed hard. "There was a boy- he couldn't have been more than thirteen. I didn't even see him at first, he looked so ordinary. He walked into the Kihatake just like an ordinary customer, then pulled out two knives and began stabbing people right and left. It took everyone a few seconds to notice, it was so sudden...when he saw me coming towards him he stabbed himself in the heart and slit his wrists. He was dying when I reached him, and just smiled when I asked him why he'd done it." Kuro's eyes filled with tears suddenly. "He was just a boy," he whispered. 

Misao bit her lip. _This is horrible._ "Do the police know yet?" 

"Saitou arrived only minutes later. He asked me a couple of questions and told me to report to you." 

_What do I do? What's a leader supposed to do in a situation like this?_ "Thank you, Kuro. Get some rest or something...it's been a long day, and you look like you need it." 

"Hai. Misao..." She looked up, a bit surprised at the use of her name. "I'm sorry." 

The words astonished her. There was real pain in his eyes- not just for what he'd witnessed, but...shame. Guilt, for having failed to protect people? For having failed her, personally? 

Tears were stinging at her eyes. "It's okay, Kuro," she said, a small part of her amazed at how even her voice was. "Get some rest." 

Once he'd left, Misao put her head into her hands. She couldn't find words to name her grief- couldn't be entirely certain of what she was grieving. The deaths of innocents, the mysterious killers, her own growing responsibility and awareness of how unfit she was to be dealing with the situation... 

_We have nothing to go on. Nothing. How do you find the sort of madman who'd be behind something like this? There must be someone planning this- it can't be a series of coincidences. But how do you find out who?_

_I have no idea what I'm doing._

The thought was familiar, but no less painful. _When I declared myself Okashira, I didn't even think about what it meant. It was still a good idea- _someone_ had to take charge- but I didn't think it'd last. I certainly didn't think I'd ever be in a situation like this!_

She wanted so badly to do a good job...just as much as she wanted to stop all the awful things that were happening. _But how? How?_

Misao rubbed her temples, all at once feeling very young, and very alone. 

********************************************************

[Tokyo] 

_Itai, itai, itai, itai..._

Yahiko's first thought upon waking was that his head _hurt_. It was very distracting; it took several minutes for him to work around it. _Feels like one of Kaoru's bashings, only worse... _

Where the hell am I? 

He remembered the attack as he was walking home...a gag covering his mouth, a bag thrown over him, then something hitting him on the head. 

_Great_, he thought bitterly. _When I get home, Kaoru will never let me live this down. Some martial artist!_

Even as he berated himself inwardly, Yahiko was viewing his surroundings. He was in a small, dark room; the gag was still covering his mouth, and his shinai- always with him- was missing. His hands and feet were tied; he struggled with the knots for several minutes before deciding that they were too tight for him to get out of. 

If_ I get home..._

Now he began to worry. This situation was bad, very bad; whoever had captured him wasn't playing games. _It's gotta be somebody trying to get at Kenshin, it always is. You'd think they'd give up one of these days. It doesn't look like I can get out of here, not yet. My best bet is to keep my mouth shut and try to figure out what their plan is._

The door creaked, and Yahiko smiled inwardly. _Good timing._ He arranged himself so that he'd look as if he were still unconscious and closed his eyes just as the door opened and two men walked in, talking. One of them held a lantern. 

"...in a few days. We won't find anything else out here." 

"Yes, I agree. We should leave as soon as possible, before the local police get on our tail. I've heard some distrbing rumors..." 

"True...we don't want the attention or the complications. Tomorrow morning, then?" 

"Yes." There was a pause; Yahiko could hear feet scuffling on the floor, walking towards him. "Hell, Kuboya, how hard did you hit him?" 

"Hard enough. He'll come to sooner or later. What do we care? He's alive and in one piece, that's all we needed." 

"Akatsu-sama won't like it if he's lost his wits." 

"Forget the boy's wits and worry about your own, jackass. Worry about it in the morning; I'm tired, and we'll need an early start if we're going back to Kyoto." 

There was more conversation- mostly bickering- but Yahiko ignored it. _Kyoto! What in the hell are these jerks doing dragging me to Kyoto? Are they setting a trap for Kenshin? I've got to get free...got to warn him! _

Right. I can't even get my hands untied, and now I've got these two bozos in the same room. There's no way I'm getting out of here tonight. 

But now I know their plan, and some sort of opportunity will have to come up in the morning. All I have to do is wait until then, and pay attention. 

Kenshin, be careful... 

* * *

"hai de gozaro yo": Yes, Kenshin style. Very polite.   
Kuboya: He's not that important. I didn't bother to find out if his name means anything. Probably "nine something valley"   
Akatsu: Written with the kanji for "red" and "wave." Yes, that's foreshadowing. *gryn* 

I picked a name out of nowhere for the restruant that was attacked in this chapter; I don't know if it's a valid name or not. "Kihatake" would mean "yellow field." It was the best I could come up with on short notice. since that restruant will never be mentioned again, I'm not inclined to be picky. 

[ashfae@duct-tape.mit.edu][1]

   [1]: mailto:ashfae@duct-tape.mit.edu



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